This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo¡¯s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Without much debate, Brandon Sproat has been the brightest light of this Mets' Minor League season. He began the year in High-A and recently made his Triple-A debut, which of course begs the question: Can Sproat become a Major League pitcher this year?

¡°Do I think he can pitch in the big leagues right now? Yeah, he probably can right now,¡± Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said of the team¡¯s No. 5 prospect, who will rate higher when MLB Pipeline updates its rankings later this week. ¡°Would he benefit from another couple months in Triple-A and refining his stuff? Probably. So I think either outcome puts us in a really good spot.¡±

To be clear: the Mets aren¡¯t there yet. Team officials promoted Sproat to Triple-A Syracuse last week because they wanted to see how he would fare against more advanced hitters, including scores of big league veterans with experience against quality pitching.

The right-hander¡¯s first start did not go swimmingly, as Sproat walked three batters and allowed six runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings. But it was just one outing. Prior to that, Sproat had enjoyed a standout run at Double-A Binghamton, producing a 2.45 ERA over 11 starts with 77 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings, punctuated by a 13-strikeout performance on Aug. 2.

¡°He¡¯s been phenomenal,¡± Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. ¡°He deserves a ton of credit for leaning into his approach and who he is. ¡­ He just goes after people. There¡¯s no fear there.¡±

Given the quality of Sproat's arsenal, beginning with a fastball that runs as hot as 101 mph, plenty of folks have wondered how he might fare in the Majors -- either in a starting role, or as a wipeout reliever who could enter high-leverage situations throwing gas.

It might not be such a pipe dream, considering Stearns¡¯ established record of calling up premium starting pitching prospects as relievers. He did so with Corbin Burnes in Milwaukee in 2018. He did so to a certain extent with Brandon Woodruff that same year. He¡¯s not closing the door on doing so with Sproat, too.

Even beyond Burnes and Woodruff, Sproat would hardly be the first of his kind. David Price is perhaps the preeminent example of a top pitching prospect coming up in the heat of a pennant race and delivering high-leverage relief innings as a rookie. Adam Wainwright, as Mets fans remember all too well, is another. Several top arms of the past two decades have followed a similar formula, including Chris Sale, Andrew Miller, Shane McClanahan and Spencer Strider.

One thing working in Sproat¡¯s favor is the 106 1/3 innings he threw during his senior season at the University of Florida, which is a more significant workload base than that of most Minor League rookies. Still, Sproat must prove definitively that he¡¯s ready to take another leap.

¡°He¡¯s got another level he¡¯s got to dominate,¡± Mets vice president of player development Andy Green said. ¡°He¡¯s got another level he¡¯s got to climb. There¡¯s a lot of very good pitchers that hit roadblocks when they hit Triple-A, and it takes them a while to get over that roadblock. Regardless of whether he clears that immediately this year or takes a little bit of time, we¡¯re genuinely excited about his future.¡±

For now, the idea of a callup is just a possibility -- nothing more.

But it sure is an intriguing one, isn¡¯t it?

¡°First and foremost, with any player who¡¯s just getting to Triple-A, let¡¯s allow them to settle in and perform at Triple-A and get comfortable about opposition that¡¯s much more advanced than what they¡¯ve been seeing previously,¡± Stearns said. ¡°And then if that happens, then sure, there can be a discussion for any player about whether there is a role at the Major League level.¡±